A beauty queen at 86: Meet the pageant winner with 26 great-grandchildren who won over judges by doing her 'signature' SPLIT

It's not every day that you see an 86-year-old expertly do a split, but that's exactly how Rita Ann Battram won over the judges at the 2013 Ms Senior Sweetheart Pageant.

The Kent, Washington native, who has been dancing since she was 11, told MailOnline she has been getting 'quite a bit' of attention since October, when she won the international beauty pageant for women over 58.

But while the audience at the competition in Fall River, Massachusetts, may have been floored by her flexibility, the great-grandmother of 26 says she was simply doing what she does best.

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Ever nimble: Rita Ann Battram, 86, won over the judges at the 2013 Ms Senior Sweetheart Pageant with her 'signature' split (pictured at 68) - a move she's been doing since childhood

'That was my signature,' she explained. 'I wanted to play piano [as a child], but it was during the Depression and we couldn't afford it. So my dad [who used to teach ballroom dancing] said I could take tap lessons.'

After a few lessons, she became hooked on dance and she grew up to be an instructor with her own studio, where she taught everything from jazz to ballet and belly dancing.

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These days, she teaches a sit-down exercise class for women at her living community, Radcliffe Place Senior Apartments, as well as choreographing dances for another group of ladies who call themselves the Ding Dong Dollies.

'I want to keep limber,' she said of staying busy with physical activity. 'We have a blast!'

Mrs Battram's pageant win was an especially proud moment for her five children, 12 grandchildren and 26
great-grandchildren.

Reigning queen: Mrs Battram's (pictured in her tiara and sash) pageant win was an especially proud moment for her five children, 12 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren

Unsurprisingly, the Ms Senior Sweetheart was not the vivacious octogenarian's first pageant.

When she lived in Arizona, she competed in a Ms Senior competition there twice, coming in first-runner-up one year and second-runner-up another.

'I've been a maid of honor a few times,' she said of her near-wins. 'But I never got to be a bride before, and it's so exciting!'

'My husband always
said, "We can't get in a competition!" and I said, "Oh just hold my hand
and I'll dance around you!"'

One of her secrets to success, she says, is staying positive, no matter what setbacks life throws at her - including being blind in one eye and having a cornea transplant in the other.

But just a year after her transplant, her vision was a very good 20/13. 'I
was so grateful,' she told Parade magazine. 'I had a lot of faith that that would happen. I've
always had a good outlook.'

Even a hip replacement three
years ago, which meant she could no longer do clogging, didn't stop her from pursuing her passion.

Seasoned pro: The vivacious octogenarian (pictured at 17) has been dancing since she was 11 and owned a studio where she taught everything from jazz to ballet to belly dancing

And when her husband Harry passed away recently, she continued to pursue her pageant dreams in honor of him. 'I was so proud of him because he always encouraged me to dance,' she told MailOnline.

Her husband, who was a professional softball pitcher, was not much of a dancer himself, but 'he would get out on the [dance] floor,' she recalled.

'We were on a cruise once and he always said, "We can't get in a competition!" and I said, "Oh just hold my hand and I'll dance around you!"

'I did, and I did the splits and we won first place!' she says. 'And I said, "See - I told you you're better than you thought you were!'

Backstage: Mrs Battram and her fellow competitors star in a new documentary called Pretty Old, which goes behind the scenes at the quirky pageant

Taking a bow: 'It's basically like Miss America,' pageant director Len Kaplan says proudly in the clip. 'But they're the mothers, the grandmothers and the great-grandmothers'

Mrs Battram and her fellow competitors star in a new documentary called Pretty Old, in which filmmaker Walter Matteson goes behind the scenes at the quirky pageant and reveals just how talented these ladies are.

'It's basically like Miss America, but they're the mothers, the grandmothers and the great-grandmothers'

'It's basically like Miss America,' pageant director Len Kaplan says proudly in the clip. 'But they're the mothers, the grandmothers and the great-grandmothers.'

As far as her future plans are concerned, Mrs Battram says she'll be keeping busy at luncheons and parades where she is the star of the hour, showing off her tiara and sash.

And she'll continue fulfilling her duties as beauty queen by crowning the next winner in October - and doing a performance while she's there, of course.